Our International Program Director, Paula Rodriguez, recently took a trip to the Ixil region of Guatemala to check in on our projects there.
Her trip took her to Chacalté, where we joined the local school in a modest construction project to keep school children safe from unwanted intruders as well as forest animals that sometimes make their way into the school grounds.
Chacalté is particularly inspiring for their resilience. After the entire community burned during the Guatemalan Civil War, the residents all returned home to rebuild a new life. There are 100 families living in Chacalté, and they are deeply committed to investing in their community, with strong organization. These families have been able to build a primary school, a secondary school, and a health care center, and surrounding towns have begun sending their children to school in Chacalté because of the great resources and leadership that exists in this community.
We are excited to work with the small village of Chacalté. The people from this struggling community make wise decisions for their future. They are intelligent, creative, and most importantly committed to ensuring the children of Chacalté build a better future for their families.
It is the rainy season in Guatemala, and that means there's a rush to replant coffee plants that were washed away in Hurricanes Eta and Iota last year. We are supporting the distribution of coffee plants for farmers who lost theirs in the storms, and they are being planted very quickly, so that they have a chance to grow strong roots before the rain dries up—coffee farms don't have irrigation systems in this region.
Approximately 500 farmers have received 200,000 coffee plants so far. There are still 240,000 more plants to distribute to a total of 1,100 farmers.
COVID-19 continues to loom ominously over Guatemala and villages like Chacalté. Despite the challenges, we continue to work with local communities responding to new issues that arise. Our continued work is reliant upon our generous contributors. If you have not yet made a contribution to The Coffee Trust this year, please consider making a donation and supporting our work. Thank you.